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More Vauxhall Zafiras Bursting into Flames

More and more Vauxhall Zafiras bursting into flames have been reported, but so far only 20,000 of the 220,000 on the road have been inspected.

London Fire Brigade has seen a spike in the number of callouts to Vauxhall Zafiras on fire. Between 2009 and 2012 the fire service saw no more than 10 Zafira fires a year, but they saw 24 in 2013, 28 in 2014 and 21 between January and November 2015.

Vauxhall are writing to 220,000 Zafira B owners, asking them to bring them to a dealer to be inspected. But so far only 20,000 have actually been investigated.

Vauxhall say the problem is with the heating system and say it’s not a design fault but a maintenance problem. They have previously insinuated that Zafira owners have not used the proper parts or used unauthorised mechanics to do repairs, and therefore somehow damaged the heating system.

As the weather gets colder we all turn to use our car heaters to keep us warm, but Vauxhall are advising Zafira drivers to avoid using their heating system in case they burst into flames. All Zafira owners will be getting a letter from Vauxhall telling them to only use the heater sparingly in short bursts and to de-mist.

Vauxhall have pointed out that it’s only a very small percentage of cars that have gone up in flames, but surely just one is one too many. Those who have experienced Zafira fires have said that the car was completely alight in just a matter of minutes. The time between the driver noticing smoke and the car being an inferno was unbelievably quick. It’s amazing no one has been hurt.

Slater and Gordon are investigating a possible claim against Vauxhall for Zafira owners. If you are, or were, a Vauxhall Zafira owner, please get in touch with our specialist litigation team at Slater and Gordon. Call us on freephone 0800 223 0659 or contact us online and we will call you.

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